I’m not sure whether the Whitehorse sweater is named after the white horse character in Lewis Carroll’s book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but something about white, red and horse have evoked that fantastical story and all its imagery, so much so that as I am now typing, Alice and the White Rabbit and the Queen of Hearts are dancing around in my brain.
Normally I don’t do red. To me red screams anger, rage, passion–all excessively strong feelings. It’s outside of my comfort zone. Yet when I headed over to Little Fox Yarn to select my color for the Whitehorse sweater, I found the red-hued Rhubard Water colorway all too tempting. I don’t know if it’s the silk, yak, merino or all of the above in this luxurious Little Fox Yarn base, called Bōsa, but the result is a perfectly muted red. Without a doubt the silken sheen plays a considerable role in softening the red, and for me the luster is what makes Bōsa transcendent in the world of yarns.
The Whitehorse sweater is a design by Caitlin Hunter of Boyland Knitworks. Right now you might be murmuring to yourself, ‘Is she ever gonna knit a sweater by any other designers?’ The answer is, probably. That’s all I can give you at the moment. Hehe.
Once you make your way past the delicate meanderings of yarn over’s, bobbles and decreases of the yoke the body is worked in reverse stockinette. I for one am a huge fan of that inside-out look, especially when paired with such an interesting yoke. Typically when knitting reverse stockinette flat you would alternate purl rows with knit rows, and in the round you would purl all rounds. However, there is a great trick for achieving a purled section that is worked in the round. Simply turn the work inside out and beginning knitting in the round, as Caitlin has cleverly instructed to do just after completing the yoke. Knit all rounds and voila, you have reverse stockinette without all the toilsome work of purling!
The in-progress shots below were taken indoors, and as you can see the indoor lighting renders the red even more subdued.
The red Whitehorse sweater is now a fabulous addition to my knit wardrobe! I plan to wear it throughout the holidays pulled over the black floral velvet slip dress, as shown in the above pictures.
